The words "Lifetime Original Movie" come with a certain low level of expectation, or at least they should. There have been enough terrible biopics aired by the network that viewers should know what they are in for. And yet, as we saw in the recent case of the film on late R&B singer, Aaliyah, her fans thought it would...well, not be the total piece of crap it turned out to be. Clearly they haven't been paying attention. So there has been just as much concern over Lifetime's upcoming film on Whitney Houston for a number of reasons, but now that the first trailer has arrived it doesn't look all that bad.
Simply titled Whitney, the film has rising star Yaya DaCosta in the title role, and she's one of the reasons for optimism. She doesn't look like Whitney Houston, then again she doesn't have to, but her performance does appear to be a confident, strong one. The singing, of which there does seem to be plenty, is performed by Deborah Cox. Arlen Escarpeta stars as Whitney's husband, Bobby Brown, with the film centering on their troubled relationship. Houston's friend and Waiting to Exhale co-star, Angela Bassett, is making her directorial debut and she doesn't seem to be pulling any punches, which may be why the singer's family isn't happy about it. They should be happy she isn't out to make some sensationalist piece of crap like some other directors would have.
Whitney will air on Lifetime January 17th.
